


Who Am I to Stand in Your Way

by Tempestas_D_Uzu



Series: I Am Not Nothing [2]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Adopted Harley Keener, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author is salty, Ayo (Marvel) Lives, BAMF T'Challa (Marvel), BAMF Tony Stark, Character Study, Civil War Team Iron Man, Consequences, Extremis Tony Stark, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Iron Man Harley Keener, Italian, Letters, Light Racism, Memories, Mentions of James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis, Miscarriage, Moving On, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Clint Barton Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, POV Steve Rogers, Parent T'Challa (Marvel), Parent Tony Stark, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Post-Canon, Post-Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pregnant Tony Stark, Prison, Protective T'Challa (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Song Lyrics, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers goes to jail, Steve is Low-key Racist, Sweet T'Challa (Marvel), Thanos (Marvel) Dies, To Kill A Mockingbird - Freeform, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Unreliable Narrator, Who Am I to Stand in Your Way by Chester See, Yoruba, borderline stalking, inspired by a song, no beta we die like men, not team Cap friendly, not wanda maximoff friendly, royal consort Tony Stark, steve rogers is a bully, villain wanda maximoff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 09:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16302194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tempestas_D_Uzu/pseuds/Tempestas_D_Uzu
Summary: His titles, everything he's worked for, it's all gone; all he's left with is a weak body, and the memories. He remembers the happy moments, the love they had shared, and it makes it all the more painful when he's left to watch her move on.He loves Toni Stark, but she loves someone else; and he can't blame her.





	Who Am I to Stand in Your Way

**Who Am I to Stand in Your Way**

 

 

Thanos was gone, defeated and dead after an enraged T’Challa had torn the Titan’s heart from his chest after Toni had gone down, the gauntlet of her Iron Queen suit thrust through her abdomen in the form of a sword.

Steve wasn’t on the field, _no_ , he had been bedridden in the hospital, body shrunken and sickly after taking a blast of Wanda’s magic when the girl had turned on him and joined Thanos. He was reduced to his weak, pre-serum body and left to watch the final battle for Earth on the small screen offered to him in his hospital room.

And then, just like that, the people of Earth had banded together to rebuild, and the trials had started.

 

_**Forgive me** _

_**I may have said things** _

_**That aren’t exactly** _

_**The way that I feel** _

 

Because of his medical needs, the lack of a flight risk, and his role in saving the world, Steve’s prison sentence is handed off to a country neutral to his past actions and Steve is sentenced to 60 years in Bastoy Prison in Norway.

Bastoy Prison is lovely and luxurious, with his own private health care team and his own cabin on the grounds; he’s never lacking for things to do on his good days, and on bad days he’s bundled into his cabin and cared for. Sometimes, Steve almost forgets that he’s in a prison, but then he remembers what he did and how many people suffered for it and he’s thrown right back to reality.

His position really puts things into perspective for Steve, and the state of his body makes him realize that he’s become what he hates most.

Steve Rogers is a bully.

 

_**I told you I’d be strong** _

 

_“Captain, my captain!” Toni’s voice is playful as she strides into the living room, hair a mess and falling from the ponytail that had once been keeping her hair out of her face. She’s wearing a tight pair of pants that hug her curves, and one of Steve’s large shirts, one of Sam’s muffins in her hand and crumbs on her cheeks._

_She’s beautiful, and Steve’s fingers itch to reach for his charcoal and start drawing her, to savour the memory._

_He smiles, putting aside his book, one Toni herself had recommended, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Steve has to agree, it’s an amazing publication; something Steve wouldn’t have even imagined possible in the 40s. “Good morning, Toni.”_

_Toni grins, throwing herself onto the couch next to him, placing a lingering, warm kiss to his cheek._

_Toni is the kind of woman Steve would have never seen possible, so outgoing and fierce and confident in who she is; not even Peggy had been that way. Peggy had always been slightly aggressive, and she had to be to make her statements and be heard. It had been a man’s world in those days, and Peggy was one in a million._

_Toni reminded Steve a lot of Peggy in a way, perhaps if Peggy had been born in this time period, she would have been like Toni was._

_Smiling, Steve takes Toni’s hand and pulls her closer, tilting her head up to capture her lips with his own._

(They had been happy in those days, and Steve wasn’t sure how it had changed.)

 

**_I said that I moved on_ **

**_But it doesn’t take long_ **

**_To realize_ **

 

Toni’s on the TV; Steve drops To Kill a Mockingbird as she steps up onto the podium, smiling at the crowd as cameras flash, there’s a teenager, a young man, at her side with fluffy tawny curls and a baby face, gray-blue eyes sharp and intelligent even as he smiles at Toni like she’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen.

“ _Thank you for coming, everyone_.” Toni’s voice is just like he remembers, husky and smooth at the same time, and lilting musically, she wearing a beautiful purple dress that makes her skin shine and her makeup is perfect as it always is when she’s talking to reporters. “ _I’ve called everyone here today to make a very important announcement. This young man at my side is Harley, my protégé and Project Pass the Torch; I met him in 2013 during the Mandarin Attacks, and he saved my life._ ” She grins playfully as she eyes the boy, “ _But I saved multiple times afterwards. So technically I saved him more than he saved me._ ”

The boy rolls his eyes in a way that leads Steve to believe that the two of them have had this conversation multiple times, and Steve chuckles.

Same old Toni.

“ _You’re all probably wondering what Project Pass the Torch is. Well, I’m proud to say that for the last couple of years, I’ve been training Keenster here as the next Iron Man._ ” The crowd explodes with voices, all trying to speak over each other, and Toni simply leans back, an eyebrow raised as she waits for the reports to quiet down. “ _Well, I can’t say that I didn’t expect that._ ”

Steve himself sits back in shock; _Toni_? Giving up _Iron Man_? He can still remember all the arguments they had had over the years, Steve trying to convince Toni to pass on the Iron Man suit and settle down, he remembers Toni’s righteous fury over his statements and the following silent treatment he’d receive.

“ _I’m going to be honest with everyone here,_ ” Toni is speaking again, “ _I’m not as young as I once was, despite my amazing good looks, and it’s time to make way for the next generation, which is why it is my honour to introduce everyone to your newest defender!_ ” She backs away from the mic, and the boy – _Harley_ , makes his way forward.

“ _I met Toni seven years ago when I was twelve; she had broken into my garage with a damaged suit, and immediately started demanding that I get her a sandwich._ ” He shares a laugh with the crowd, and Steve can see Toni in the way the young man holds himself. “ _The start of a beautiful friendship, I’ll tell you, and I threatened her with my potato gun._ ” He’s grinning playfully in a way that probably makes all the dames swoon, and the cameras flash wildly. “ _I was sixteen when my sister and I lost our mother, and Toni didn’t hesitate to open her home to us. She adopted us a year later, and I became Harley Keener-Stark, and began training with Toni to learn how to fly my own Iron Man suit. My first suit included a potato gun_.” He takes a breath and laughs quietly, “ _I’ll miss my mom every day, but I’m eternally grateful for everything Toni has done for my sister and I; Toni is our hero, and it is my honour to continue her legacy._ ”

Toni is smiling at the young man, so much maternal love in her expression that it steals Steve’s breath away in a way reminiscent of an asthma attack, and he quickly turns off the television to cradle his head in his hands.

(His mind can’t quite leave the image of the young man with golden brown curls and blue eyes standing at Toni’s side – he could have been her son.

In another life, he could have been their son.)

 

_**That I’m not over you** _

 

_They fall into bed, a tangle of limbs and breathless laughter, and Steve smiles into the kiss he presses against Toni’s lips as he runs large hands over her smaller body. One hand pauses on her stomach as the other herds her bare legs around his waist._

_Toni grins up at him through half-lidded eyes as he looms over her, and her beautiful eyes sparkle mischievously. “Hello there, Soldier, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”_

_Steve rolls his eyes, swallowing her following laughter with a searing kiss as he rocks against her, enjoying the way she moans under him._

_“Have you ever thought about settling down?” He asks as he breaks the kiss, and Toni whines at the loss of contact. “Getting married, starting a family?”_

_Toni pauses, peering up at him from under her lashes, and she frowns slightly, “Is_ now _really the time to talk about this?” Steve stares at her with bright, hopeful blue eyes, and Toni wavers and sighs. “Honestly, I don’t know.”_

_“I really want kids,” Steve admits, voice sad, and Toni’s defense crumbles even more. “Always have; at least one son to play catch with, I’d name him James.”_

_“Steve…” Toni starts, then hesitates when his eyes meet hers once again, “Can we talk about this is the morning?”_

_“In the morning.” Steve agrees firmly, then smiles down at her once again. “Now where were we?”_

**_But if there is somebody that makes you feel happy_ **

**_Tends to your heart in the ways I’d been lacking_ **

 

Bucky writes to him, long letters about life now that he’s out of psychiatric care; he’s making a new life for himself, going out and meeting dames, and knowing Bucky, he’s probably wooing them too; Bucky had always been better with girls than Steve was.

(Steve tries to ignore that Bucky signs his letters with James.)

He writes, but he doesn’t come visit.

No one does.

No one wants anything to do with Steve now, not after all the lives that were lost because of him, not after he lost his serum-strength; the only contact he has with the world outside of Bastoy is what he sees on the television and what Bucky puts in his letters.

The world is moving on, and Steve isn’t a part of it, he’s nothing more than a foot note in history, and a name nobody wants to speak.

They don’t need Steve.

 

_**Then who am I, who am I to stand in your way** _

 

The wedding is the only thing anyone on TV wants to talk about, and Steve can’t get away from it. He doesn’t know if he wants to put himself through watching it, but at the same time, he wants to.

He wants to watch Toni walk down the aisle, he wants to see her face as she says her vows, and he wants to look at the dress she’s chosen out.

She’ll be beautiful, Steve knows this, and she’s no longer _his_.

He lost his chance years ago, when he left her alone in Siberia; Toni had not been kind to him the first time they had been reunited when Steve had returned to the states, she had been biting and cold and had wanted nothing to do with him, unless it was to tear him down and show him everything he did wrong.

He hadn’t understood at the time; he had tried to win her back, to show that he loved her, but she had rebuffed him every time. He hadn’t realized what he’d had until it was gone.

She had chosen someone else, and Steve had chased her away.

He remembers the rage he had felt when he had found Toni and T’Challa together, sharing gentle kisses and loving words on the couch. He had felt betrayal, and he hadn’t reacted well, he was ashamed to think now; he had reacted violently, thinking Toni had betrayed what they had together for the King, he had called her terrible things, _said_ terrible things.

But, the truth was, Steve had betrayed her first, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

T’Challa loved Toni, he had for a long time; he remembers how the King had attacked him when Toni’s press conference came out, he remembers how righteously angry he had been that Toni was airing their dirty laundry to the world. And then T’Challa had charged him, fist swinging and throwing him into the wall. At the time, Steve couldn’t understand why a person he had believed to be his ally was attacking him. He remembers the cold fury on T’Challa’s face whenever Steve’s team talked bad about Toni, the anger in his eyes when he stared them down after cruel words were spat towards the absent woman.

He hadn’t put the pieces together until that moment on the couch.

T’Challa loved Toni, and Toni loved T’Challa.

They were happy together.

There was no room for Steve in that picture.

 

_**To stand in your way** _

_**To stand in your way** _

_**I won’t stand in your way** _

 

_There's music pouring from Toni’s lab, surprisingly downbeat compared to the usual mess that she enjoyed listening to; it was a slow, crooning song in another language, calm and sweet with a soaring male voice._

_Steve peers through the glass of the lab, watching as his gal did a quick, graceful ballroom dance across the floor, an imaginary partner leading her. She was singing along with the song, the foreign language falling from her tongue as if she had been speaking it her entire life._

_She looks so happy and peaceful in that moment, that Steve leans against the window and just watches._

_Toni is in her element, looking like royalty even in her ripped, grease stained jeans, and an old tank top. Her eyes are closed as she twirls through the room, leaving her imaginary partner to rest a hand on one of her robot’s claws, and start to lead the machine as well._

_“Quando sei lontana so no all’orizzonte e mancan le parole.” She’s singing as her eyes open and meet his on the other side of the glass, and she smiles at him. “E lo sì lo so che sei con me…” She gestures with her hands for him to enter the area, and he does so. She grabs his hands when he close enough, still singing along with the song, as dark brown eyes stare into blue. “Tu, mia luna, tu sei qui con me.” She sweeps him into the dance, still crooning with the song as she stares into his eyes. “ Mio sole, tu sei qui con me, con me, con me-“_

_He can’t help himself, he bends down and captures her lips with his own, and the music washes over both of them._

 

_**I know it sounds crazy** _

_**But I need you to trust me** _

_**If it’s how it must be** _

_**Then I’ll fade away** _

 

Steve doesn’t end up watching the Royal Marriage of King T’Challa and Queen Antonia, but he does see the pictures and read the news articles. The marriage had happened on one of Steve’s bad days, when he was left struggling to breath and confined to bed as he rambled feverishly.

When he’s feeling better is when he finally gets the chance to research the wedding of the year, and it steals his breath away just as effectively as his attacks had.

Toni looks _beautiful_ , wearing a shimmering crimson dress with a long trail, her short hair is spotted with shimmering diamonds, and her makeup is done perfectly and her red painted lips are stretched into a wide grin. The dress itself looks pretty simple, a sleeveless thing without any special designs or patterns, but Steve knows it’s probably worth more than the average person makes in a year.

It’s her expression that truly holds his attention.

She looks radiant and beautiful, and _so happy_ on T’Challa’s arm.

Rhodes had given her away at the alter, and Pepper had been her bridesmaid; there had been heroes from all over the world in attendance, politicians, and apparently other royal families. According to the article he’s reading, there’s going to be a second, more private wedding done in Wakanda, following Wakandan traditions.

Steve has to put the article down.

He can’t help but wonder, if he hadn’t messed up, could that have been him accepting Toni from her brother in all but blood, him who had that beautiful, vivacious woman at his side? Would she have been as happy as she does next to King T’Challa?

The question will haunt him for the rest of his life, Steve thinks, but it’s nothing less than he deserves.

He was the one who brushed Toni to the side and left her behind.

It was only fair she do the same.

 

_**When it finally feels true** _

_**Then do what you have to** _

_**Cause I’d never blame you** _

_**For not choosing me** _

 

Maybe things had begun to change after Project Insight, Steve couldn’t be sure.

Had he begun to distance himself from Toni after learning the truth of her parents’ death and the Winter Soldier’s role in it? Or was it before than?

As many happy memories Steve has of his relationship with Toni, watching from his prison really makes him think back on their time together, and remember all the times Toni had flinched from him, every time she had bitten her lip and looked at him for permission to speak. All the times he had simply ignored her opinion as less then the others around him.

He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, because that’s how things were done in his mind, that was the world he had grown up in.

His therapist tells him of his inability to allow himself to learn how things were done after the 40s, and she gives him books and articles to read about relationships in the 21st Century, and Steve reads them, because the last time he hadn’t read something had led to the ‘Civil War’.

The information really puts things into perspective for Steve, and he starts to think and compare.

The truth hits him like a sledge hammer.

 _Abuse_.

He had _abused_ Toni, mentally and emotionally, and at the end, even physically.

Steve wants to be sick.

No wonder Toni had looked so happy, so much _better_ without him.

 

_**But I’m not over you** _

 

_“Steve-“_

_“Not now, Toni!”_

_“Sometimes, Toni gets these little ideas in her mind, and I need to be there to make sure that they’re the right ideas.”_

_“Toni doesn’t know what she’s doing, I’ll go talk to her, make her see reason.”_

_“Toni, enough, it isn’t important.”_

_“It is to me-“_

_“Enough, Toni!”_

_“Sometimes, my teammates don’t tell me things.”_

_“No more secrets, Toni.”_

_“…No more secrets…”_

_“Toni, have you thought about marriage, setting down, having kids? Clint’s kids are adorable.”_

_“I don’t know, Steve-“_

_“I really want it, it’s a big thing for me. Something I’ve always wanted. I don’t know if I’d want to continue a relationship without them.”_

_“…Right.”_

_“I don’t care. He killed my mom.”_

_“My father made that shield! You don’t deserve it!”_

_“He’s my friend.”_

_“So was I.”_

_“We’re done, Steve. I don’t want to talk about this.”_

_“We’re not done until I say so! How could you do this to me, Toni, you’re my girl!”_

_“I’m not your anything!”_

_“This isn’t over Toni! You love me!”_

_“Not anymore.”_

 

The memories swamping his mind, Steve sits up, grabs some paper, and starts to write.

 

_**But if there is somebody that makes you feel happy** _

_**Tends to your heart in the ways I’ve been lacking** _

 

Bucky is moving on.

The information _hurts_ Steve when he receives Buck’s newest letter, telling about the vivacious, spirited woman he was seeing now. According to Bucky, she’s impulsive and reckless, and outspoken; she’s always speaking her mind and uses sarcasm to the same mastery as she does her tazer.

From the way Bucky talks about this woman, Steve can see that Bucky cares for her, might even love her.

Steve is happy for Bucky, he really is, but it hurts that Bucky was able to move on so easily when Steve _couldn’t_ , how Bucky was able to build himself a new life and has people to care for now, and all the while Steve is in prison, wallowing in what could have been and what he would have done differently.

(He signs his letter with James, it’s like a sign that Steve isn’t needed anymore.)

 

_**Then who am I, who am I to stand in your way** _

_**That I feel is no longer your burden** _

 

_Steve is still sprawled against the wall, stunned, when T’Challa growls at him, burning fury in his dark eyes as his lips curl away from his teeth in an animalistic expression of anger; the calm, wise young King that Steve has gotten to know in the last few months is gone, leaving a panther in its wake._

_An enraged panther, and not even the glancing blow to the eye Steve had landed when T’Challa had thrown himself at him seemed to quell that rage._

_His team snaps out of the shock Toni’s press conference had left them in, and Steve is grateful when they leap to his defense; Wanda and Clint immediately, and Sam a few moments behind them, but Scott, who had been distancing himself since the Raft, holds up his hands in a calming gesture._

_“Hey, man-Your Highness-“ He tries to say, backing away from the two enhanced men, but goes quiet at the warning look one of T’Challa’s guards throws him._

_T’Challa’s eyes never leave Steve though, and he ignores the blood dripping from his fist as he continues to glare. “You are a_ liar _.” The King finally hisses, “You beat her until she could no longer move, you lied and_ used _her for years. You are not worth the_ dirt _under her feet.”_

_“Listen,” Steve pushes himself to his feet, his voice commanding but calming, “It wasn’t what it looked like, Toni doesn’t know what she’s talking about. All I need to do is talk to her, and she’ll retract all that, she knows it isn’t true.”_

_His voice seems to have the opposite effect than what Steve was trying for, and T’Challa bristles. “You mean you will intimidate her until she conforms to the lie you have built around you.” He growls, “The only reason why I have not thrown you out is because I am a man of my word, and having you leave will only put more people in danger.”_

_“Toni was being irrational ,” Steve points out, “I told her to stop, to stay down, but she refused to_ listen _.”_

_“So you decided to force her down so that you could crush her chest!” The King snarled, and Steve sighs._

_“You’re all blowing this out of proportion,” He says simply, “Toni is dramatic, she’s just doing this for attention. It’ll all blow over soon, once people realize the_ truth _.”_

_“My King,” One of the women says suddenly as T’Challa swells and looks ready to throw himself at Steve again, and she says something in their mother tongue that Steve can’t translate._

_As if flipping a switch, all aggression seems to bleed out of the ruffled King, and he steps back. “You are correct,” He says regally, staring at Steve and his people as if they were something nasty he had stepped in, “It is rude to steal claimed prey.”_

_Without explaining what he meant, T’Challa turns on his heel and sweeps from the room, his guards falling into step behind him._

_“Was all that true?”_

_It’s Scott who breaks the silence that had fallen over them, and he’s staring at Steve as if he’s never seen him before._

_“You really did that? You tried to kill Stark?”_

_“You heard Steve, Stark is playing it up for pity.” Clint spits back, and Scott looks horrified._

_“Dude, we just saw those videos.” Scott points out, “He_ lied _to us.”_

_Steve sighs again, tried of the fact that Scott and T’Challa just don’t seem to get it; Toni was being irrational and hysterical, and she had refused to listen to him. Bucky was innocent and he had to put her down for her own good._

_“Scott, you don’t understand what’s-“_

_“Don’t try to_ placate _me!” Scott’s voice pitched higher as his hands flail. “What the_ fuck _, Cap! Holy shit!” He runs his hands through his hair. “I don’t like Stark, but no one deserves to have their chest caved in after seeing their parents murdered!”_

_“Stark is a monster!” Wanda jumps to his defense, and while that isn’t the term Steve would use to describe Toni, he finds himself nodding along. “She wouldn’t have hesitated to murder Steve and Bucky!”_

_“But she didn’t!” Scott cries, “The Iron Man suit is weaponized, if she had wanted then dead, they’d be dead! Not even a super soldier can survive a missile!”_

_“Stark didn’t kill them because Cap stopped her.” Clint returns._

_Scott goes silent, staring at them as if he can’t believe what they’re saying, before he let’s out a half hysterical laugh and throws his hands into the air. “What the fuck are you on?!” Then he pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head, “You know what, no. I’m done, I’m_ out _.”_

_“Where are you going?” Steve demands as Lang turns on his heel and starts marching away like a toddler throwing a tantrum._

_“Away from you crazies!”_

 

_**If there is someone that can make you feel perfect** _

_**Then who am I who am I to stand in your way** _

 

_There’s a weight off his shoulders as the Compound comes into view, and Steve can’t fight down the smile that grows on his face as he relaxes into his seat._

_He’s_ home _._

_Steve lets out a sigh as he feels the Quinjet begin it’s descent, and he smiles at his teammates, the ones who had stayed loyal to him through the whole mess with the Accords and chose to help him defend people properly._

_The doors to the cockpit slide open as the jet comes to a smooth stop, and T’Challa steps out, wearing a sleek black suit and tie, and he stares at the gathered Avengers with impassive eyes. “We are here.” Is all he says, stepping towards the lowering ramp. “If you will follow me.”_

_Steve sighs at the rudeness, but he stands and follows the king._

_Toni is waiting for them on the ground, and Steve sends her a disapproving stare when she does nothing but frown at them, then turn her attention to King T’Challa as the man strides to her side, ignoring Steve._

_Steve sighs; he should have expected that Toni was going to be childish about her loss over the Accords, but it didn’t matter in the end, they loved each other, and Toni would come back to him._

_“Good afternoon,” A beautiful blonde woman steps forward, wearing military greens lined with awards and medals, and no-nonsense blue eyes study them. “I’m Colonel Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel. The Co-Commander of the Avengers.”_

_Steve steps forward, his best press smile pasted on his face, and he offers a hand. “I’m Captain Steve Rogers, Captain America. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Danvers."_

_Blue eyes grow flinty, and Steve withholds another sigh; looks like Toni had convinced this woman to play along with her silly tantrum. “It’s Colonel Danvers,_ Mister _Rogers.” She stares him down, her expression demanding he bow to her demands._

_Well, Steve doesn’t give in to bullies, and Carol Danvers is going to have to learn that._

_“I prefer Captain,” Steve straightens, setting his jaw._

_Danvers raises an eyebrow, her expression unimpressed. “My apologies, Private Rogers, weren’t you aware? You were never a captain, you never attended command training, you didn’t even finish boot camp. Your title of Captain was nothing more than honorary, and a stage name.” She then turns to look at the other woman at her side, a tall woman with curly brown hair and almost violently bright green eyes in professional clothing, who stepped forward. “This is Jennifer Walters, your UN appointed lawyer, she’s here to get you up to speed on everything you missed while you were…_ unavailable _.”_

_Steve sighs, but offers the lawyer his nicest smile._

_He’ll play nice for now, but once he’s back in control of_ his _team, there will be changes._

_**To stand in your way** _

_**To stand in your way** _

_**I won’t stand in your way** _

 

There’s news on Toni’s personal Twitter account, a life-changing photo staring Steve in the face; Toni’s not in the picture, so she was probably to one to take it, but T’Challa is.

And there’s a baby in his lap.

The baby is staring into the camera as T’Challa smiles down at the small infant, so much love in his eyes that Steve shakes, but it’s the baby that keeps Steve’s attention; it’s obviously T’Challa’s child, with it’s chocolate skin a shade lighter than it’s father’s, with chubby cheeks and a head full of thick black curls, it’s maybe four months at the oldest.

And it has Toni’s eyes.

Large, almond-shaped eyes the colour of milk chocolate and speckled with shades of amber and gold in the right lighting.

‘ **Azari and his Daddy ♡** ’

Steve can’t tear his eyes away from the caption; a son.

Toni has a _son_ , with _T’Challa_.

He scrolls through Toni’s page; he’s never been big on Twitter, he had an account that Toni had made for him, but he hadn’t used it in years, not since SHIELD was destroyed. He had opened Twitter today on a whim, nothing more, and the information that greets him is heartbreaking proof that he’s lost.

There’s another picture, three months old, of a newborn child wrapped in Wakandan garb as sleeping peacefully on a slumbering Toni’s chest.

‘ **Welcome to the world Prince Azari Edwin Stark!** ’

 

_**Down the road someone will ask me if I know you** _

_**I’ll pause for a moment, I’ll smile and say that I used to** _

 

_There’s voices coming from the common room; whispered but loud enough that Steve can pick out they’re playful cadence as he comes closer._

_He had been informed that this wing of the compound is off limits to him and his team, which is ridiculous in Steve’s opinion, if they’re supposed to be working together, then there can’t be any secrets between them. Steve knows that Toni had something to do with the division in the Avengers, probably just another way to try and make Steve grovel for whatever perceived slight she’s made up._

_He needs to talk to her, tell her how ridiculous she’s being._

_She’s doing herself no favors with her childish tantrum._

_He’s glad that Nat’s helped him temporarily silence the AI of the compound (JOCASTA, he thinks is what Danvers had told them on their return to the Compound), so that he can go talk some sort of sense into Toni. His gal’s stubborn pride has gone on long enough._

_There’s a giggle, and Steve steps into the common room just on time to see Toni press a kiss to the lips of the tall coloured man sitting next to her._

_Steve freezes, and a warm, male chuckle fills the room._

_“You are too kind, My Love.”_

_It’s_ T’Challa _._

 _“_ Mo nifẹ rẹ _.” Toni whispers back, and Steve snaps._

 _“_ What _do you think you’re doing?!” Caught, the two jerk apart, and two pairs of wide eyes snap towards him as he storms forward, intent on grabbing Toni and demanding to know why she’s playing around with some other guy when she’s_ his _._

 _“The_ one time _we give Okoye the night off.” He hears Toni hiss as she stands, shoulders tense as she glares at him. T’Challa stands as well, loose and prepared for a fight as he slides closer to Toni, the couch still between the two caught red-handed and Steve._

 _“Are you really that petty?!” Steve demands, “To_ whore yourself out _for some silly little tantrum?! Come here, Toni.”_

_Toni bristles, and T’Challa growls, one of his hands sneaking forward to rest on Toni’s wrist._

_“What are you doing here, Mister Rogers?” T’Challa snarls, and Steve shoots the man a glare._

_“I came for_ my _girlfriend, T’Challa.” Then his eyes snap back to Toni, “Toni, come here,_ now _. Don’t make me say it again.”_

_Toni juts out her chin, sets her shoulders, and refuses._

_“_ No _.”_

 _She refused him, her_ boyfriend _._

 _“I’m not your girlfriend, Rogers.” Toni snaps back, “We’re_ over _. I’ve moved on, now leave.”_

 _“You’ve_ moved on _?!” Steve parrots, “You don’t_ get _to move on, Toni, not from me. And not with_ T’Challa _!”_

 _“I can do whatever the hell I want, you get no say in it.” Her brown eyes are sharp, furious and burning, “We’re_ done _, Steve. I don’t want to talk about this.”_

 _“We’re not done until I say so!” Steve thunders, face red with anger. “How could you do this to me, Toni, you’re_ my _girl!”_

 _“I’m not your_ anything _!”_

_Steve roars, throwing the couch to the side and it crashes into the far wall, and he moves forward, intent on grabbing Toni and dragging her away to shake some sense into her._

_She’s betrayed him, and she’s been sleeping around to get back at him._

_Enough is_ enough _._

 _He’s interrupted when T’Challa steps between them, a threat clear in his dark eyes; the king’s lips are swollen(from kissing_ Steve’s _girl) and there’s familiar bruised patches on his throat and under his jaw(all from being with Steve’s girlfriend behind his back.)_

 _“You need to_ leave _.” T’Challa orders, and Steve swings._

_The punch, however, never hits it’s target; small, calloused fingers wrap around Steve’s wrist, and his hand is forced to stop._

Toni _is glaring at him, eyes glowing like golden flames, and her hand is wrapped around the joint of his wrist, holding him back. “You want me to break your wrist? Because I will if you don’t_ fuck off _.”_

 _Steve stares in horror, and he breaths. “What have you_ done _?”_

_But he doesn’t back down._

_Toni’s eyes harden further, and the ‘snap!’ of bones breaking fills the air._

_Steve howls, shocked at the pain; worse than anything he’s felt since getting the serum, and drops to his knees._

_Toni’s fiery eyes watch him coldly._

_“What I had to.”_

 

_**If there is somebody that makes you feel happy** _

_**Tends to your heart** _

_**The ways I’ve been lacking** _

 

_Toni is bent over what looks like a copy of her Iron Man armour that actually holds a feminine shape, where Iron Man had been flat chested until the introduction of Toni’s new Iron Queen armour, a young coloured girl beside her who’s hanging on to her every word._

_“-got some impressive work here, Riri, but you crossed wires wrong here and here. Fix that up, and you’ll be in the sky in no time.”_

_The teenager looks overjoyed, flipping her safety mask back over her face and jumps into the work bubbling with enthusiasm._

_Toni steps away, a gentle smile on her face as she turns around._

_The smile, however melts away when she sees Steve standing in the doorway._

_“JOCASTA told me you were on your way here.” Toni says coldly as she steps into the hallway with him, “I’ll tell you now, everything you do is being recorded, and T’Challa’s on his way here right now.” Brown eyes meet blue, and Toni glares. “We’re over Rogers, get with the program.”_

_Steve bristles, dogging Toni’s steps as she moves towards the elevator; he wants to grab her arm and force her to stop and listen to him, but after last time, he figures it’s better not to. “This isn’t over, Toni! You love me!”_

_Toni pauses a few steps from the elevator, and for a moment Steve thinks he’s won, but Toni doesn’t turn._

_“Not anymore.” Her words have the finality of a death sentence, but Steve has never been one to back down when someone else is in the wrong._

_“I’ll fight for you.” He promises, “Deep down I know you still love me, you’ll never stop.”_

_Toni does turn this time, her face incredulous, before it hardens when the elevator opens behind her with a ‘ding’, revealing T’Challa, with a masked Spiderman at his side._

_“Don’t bother.” Toni tells him bluntly, and steps into the elevator._

_The doors close immediately, blocking him from his goal._

 

_**Then who am, I who am I to stand in your way** _

_**That I feel is no longer your burden** _

 

_Steve,_

_This is going to be my last letter to you._

_You sacrificed too many things that you shouldn’t have to get me here, and you’ve done terrible things… we’ve done terrible things. You had no right to decide that my life was worth more than hundreds, even thousands of people, and if you were still the man I remember, you wouldn’t have done that._

_But that’s what I’m writing to you to tell you; neither of are the same people we were before the War, and it’s time to back down._

_You were my best friend a long time ago, and you’ve risked a lot for me; that’s the only reason why I’ve continued to write to you all this time, but I can’t do it any more._

_I’m moving on, Steve, it’s not good for us to dwell on what was in the past, it’s not good for me._

_You’re not good for me._

_I’m going back to school, I’m studying history, and I’m building myself a life; Darcy and I are engaged, and we’re having a baby girl. I’m building a family Steve, and I plan to give them my everything._

_What you should have done when you came out of the ice._

_I’m sorry Steve, and goodbye._

_James Lewis._

 

_**If there is someone that can make you feel perfect** _

_**Then who am I who am I to stand in your way** _

_**To stand in your way** _

_**To stand in your way** _

 

“Mister Rogers?”

Steve, seated out on his porch and enjoying the sun looks up from his book as a guard approaches him; it’s Anders, the pale haired, green eyed guard, and one of the only English speaking guards at Bastoy. Steve offers the man a small smile, “Good morning, Anders.” He straightens, “What can I do for you?”

“Are you well?” The man asks, and Steve nods.

“Better than I’ve been in a while.” He admits, and Anders smiles calmly.

“You have a visitor, if you wish to see her?”

 

_**To stand in your way** _

 

“Hello Steve.”

Steve freezes in the doorway, staring in shock at the woman reclining in her seat like she owns the place as she stares at him with blank brown eyes that glow like gold in the sunlight streaming through the windows. She looks great, and Steve won’t lie to himself when he thinks she’s beautiful in her loose violet blouse, the colour of Wakanda.

There’s another woman standing behind her, wearing the red armour of the Wakandan royal guard, and the way she watches him makes Steve feel small, well, _smaller_.

Toni’s playing with the large bracelet around her wrist as she stares him down, then nods her head towards the seat across the table from her. “Sit down.”

Steve does so, offering Toni a hesitant smile as he does so, “Hey, Toni.”

The guard growls, crossing her arms over her chest, “You will address the Queen with _respect_.”

“Ayo,” Toni says playfully, smiling at the woman, “You don’t need to threaten him, he can’t do anything.” Sharp eyes swing back to Steve, and her smile grows more feral. “Not _anymore_.”

Steve shrinks under the memories and guilt that comes with that statement, and ducks his head as he kicks his lips. “Your Majesty.” He murmurs, then risks a glance back to Toni as she places a hand on the folder I’m front of her.

After a moment of silence, she slid the manila papers towards him.

“Read it.”

He does so, and his hands shake a little when he realizes what it is.

It’s a medical report, and it’s dated all the way back to Siberia.

Back to when Steve tried to kill her.

He reads through pages and pages of medical jargon, his stomach sinking with every line he reads further and further into the document, and then everything freezes.

‘- _trauma induced miscarriage_ ’

A _miscarriage_.

Toni had been _pregnant_.

His head snaps up, and the expression on Toni’s face tells him that she knows _exactly_ what he’s just read.

“It’s all true. Every last part of it.” She says viciously, one hand sliding from the table to rest against the slight bulge of her stomach that Steve has only just noticed for the first time. “I was pregnant in Siberia, and I was pregnant when you rammed that shield into me so hard that my body _caved in on itself._ ”

“I’m so sorry… for everything.” Steve whispers from numb lips, and Toni raises an eyebrow.

“Should have said that years ago,” She states, “But you can’t change what happened.” Steve shrinks further into himself, and Toni straightens, looking every inch the Queen she is now, and she fiddles with her bracelet once more.

Suddenly, she pushing something else towards him, something smaller, shiner, and Steve dutifully flips it over.

“My son, Azari.” She says, and Steve knows.

The boy has grown since the photo on Twitter, the picture that had led to Steve leaving the platform altogether, and Steve does the math in his head; the child would be four now, and he’s growing to favor his mother’s delicate Italian bone structure that Toni inherited from her own mother. He’s standing over what looks like an impressive piece of technology, a wide, dimpled grin on his small face, thick curls standing up every which way as Toni’s eyes shine from under his thick lashes.

“I took that just before I left, he wired a circuit board.” Toni’s smile is gentle as she looks at her son’s face. “He takes after me, but he’s just as sweet as his father.” Steve licks his lips and has to tear his eyes away from the picture as Toni takes it back. “This one is going to be a girl. We’re naming her Maria, and she’s going to be just as amazing as her namesake.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He asks weakly, and Toni sits back.

“Because you’re not taking another one from me.” She says bluntly, studying her nails, “Because I’m a petty bitch. Because I want you to know. What you missed out on, what you ruined. _Take your pick_. Maybe I just wanted you to suffer a little bit more, because after today, you have no more hold on my life, and you are nothing to me but a bad memory.”

Then she’s standing, pushing herself away from the table and away from Steve as her guard moves to flank her.

Steve doesn’t look up, he has no right to, not anymore.

But…

“Do you think we could have worked?” He asks, and Toni pauses in the doorway.

“Not the way we were.” She responds, and Steve knows she’s right.

“But we were _happy_.” Steve is saying as the door swings open, and Toni leaves him with a single word as she steps out and the door closes behind her.

“Once.”

And then she’s gone, and Steve is left with the consequences of his actions.

He's _alone_.

 

_**I won’t stand in your way** _

_**I won’t stand in your way** _

_**I won’t stand in your way** _


End file.
